Top Ethics and Compliance Failures of 2025
By 
Adrianne Appel2025-12-17T20:09:00
The 2025 year has been so rich with compliance stinkers, and rife with poor judgment, compliance missteps, outright malfeasance and greed, greed, greed, that it was almost impossible to choose just six epic compliance failures from this year’s massive poop pile.
But choose we did. The sorry cases and situations below stand as reminders to companies of what not to do: Don’t ignore your compliance team. Don’t ignore regulators. Don’t skimp on monitoring. Don’t let your executives run amok. The alternative? Support compliance, listen to the team, and take their advice. Without further ado, here are 2025’s biggest compliance failures.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
ArticleTips for making AI tools more compliant in 2026
AI mistakes can lead to viral news stories and, sometimes, big legal bills. How can compliance managers learn from past mishaps and protect their organizations as AI becomes increasingly integrated into every part of our working lives? We asked experts what compliance should do to make sure AI toes the ...
-
ArticleTop of mind compliance topics in 2026: Finance, immigration, supply chains and sustainability
What will you be doing in the coming year? We asked experts in a range of sectors to gaze into their crystal balls and highlight one legal development or compliance topic that will be critical for compliance teams in 2026. This is an edited version of what they told us.
-
PremiumTop Ethics and Compliance Triumphs of 2025
This year’s compliance triumphs were all born out of compliance fails. In some cases, it was a regulator finding fault and demanding change. In others, acquiring companies noticed something a little fishy in their new acquisition. What formed a compliance triumph in every case wasn’t the mistake; it was the ...
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefSEC’s Uyeda: ‘Enforcement is the wrong way’ to handle off-channel communications
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Mark Uyeda told an audience of investment advisers that the SEC will no longer prioritize stand-alone enforcement actions for violations of the SEC’s rules on off-channel communications.
-
News BriefAdobe agrees to $150M settlement over alleged cancellation fee violations
Adobe agreed to a $150 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over accusations that it concealed software termination fees and made it difficult for customers to cancel.
-
ArticleU.K. competition regulator ‘very likely’ to use new enforcement powers despite government’s pro-growth agenda
New powers granted to the U.K.’s main competition watchdog will result in greater scrutiny, tougher enforcement, and a stark warning for companies to review their sales and marketing promotions—especially since some practices have been pushed firmly into the spotlight thanks to legislation that came into effect last year.